


The Plague

by KiranInBlue



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Gen, M/M, Plague
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-18
Updated: 2012-11-18
Packaged: 2017-11-19 00:26:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/566994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiranInBlue/pseuds/KiranInBlue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During a diplomatic mission to a little-known planet petitioning to join the Federation, the Enterprise and her crew find themselves in a sticky situation when a plague breaks out on the planet's surface.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Plague

The first thing anyone noticed about the planet Verhon was that it was _bright_. Damn bright. Jim shielded his eyes from the glare with one hand, squinting out across the new landscape.

It wasn’t just the sun. No, the sun was pretty damn strong in its own regard, blazing the planet with white light and ultraviolet radiation – but the real feature that was bound to turn this glare into a pounding headache within a few hours was the fact that the entire planet was covered in pure white vegetation. The light from the sun reflected off of the millions of white leaves of the enormous rainforest spreading out across the terrain, making the brightness almost unbearable.

“This will get uncomfortable fast,” Jim commented wryly.

“Indeed,” Spock agreed. “It would be most prudent to remove ourselves from direct sunlight as soon as possible in order to avoid any damage to our eyes or skin.”

"Well, we won't have to wait long," Uhura said. "Here comes the ambassador now."

Jim turned and squinted in the direction of her gaze, where an enormous building of dark red broke through the blanket of white leaves, looking remarkably like a spike with a white ball impaled at the top. Approaching from this building across the canopy's walkway was what appeared to be an enormous Terran rat, dappled white and dark red, with large black eyes. He was flanked by two larger individuals, who were clad in a thick, shimmering material that appeared to be some kind of armor.

"Captain!"

The Verhonians scampered up the last couple feet to the away team and sat back on their haunches, whiskers quivering as they surveyed the newcomers. At this close range, Jim could notice a few differences between the Verhonians and Terran rats, other than simply their enormous size. For one thing, the tips of their noses had two sets of nostrils, and for another, their claws and limbs were remarkably elongated.

"Captain, welcome, welcome!" the Verhonian ambassador chirped. "We are very excited about the arrival of the Federation," the Ambassador greeted them. "I am Ambassador Tallari, and it is my greatest honor to greet you. I trust you are healthy?"

"You find us in perfect health," Jim replied, parroting off the traditional Verhonian greeting. "And you sir - I believe that you are free from ill?"

The Ambassador's whisker's twitched. "That I am, Captain. Now, if you'd follow me, I will escort you to the council chambers."

"Yes, thank you," Jim replied. "I think that would be best."

The Ambassador blinked at him once, and then turned and began to make his way back up to the enormous red building he'd emerged from. The guards fell back to flank behind the away team, and together, they started forward.

Jim watched his escorts curiously, trying to gleam whatever clues he could about their civilization from the few details they already had.

From his briefing from Starfleet, Jim knew that the Verhonians were a race of superintelligent rodents that inhabited the heavily vegetated fifth planet in their solar system. Approximately thirty-five years ago, they had come into warp capabilities, and First Contact had been established. However, at the time, Verhon had been undergoing massive political turmoil and the people were unwilling to further diplomatic relations. The original Federation team was sent away, with the promise that when the political situation had come under control, the Verhonians would re-establish contact with the Federation.

Three months ago, Starfleet had received a message from Verhon, inviting the Federation to return, along with the heavy implication of a possible Federation membership.

They had also specifically requested to host the captain of the flagship.  And so here Jim was, exploring a mysterious, forbidden planet and sweltering under the glare of the alien sun. Which was all well and good, but he hoped he could get under the canopy soon.

"I do hope the weather is not too uncomfortable for you," Ambassador Tallari commented as they climbed. "We would have preferred to host Federation guests during the next season, which would have been our mild season, but it would have seriously delayed our initiation of relations."

Jim shook his head. "No, it's okay, Ambassador. We knew about your planet's elliptical orbit and periodic proximity to your sun, so our away team has already taken some compounds to keep us healthy in this environment."

"However," Spock put in. "The compounds do have limited effectiveness, so it would be beneficial to remain indoors or below the canopy as much as possible."

"Of course," the Ambassador agreed.

They had reached the dark building, and as they approached, a door Jim had not previously noticed slid open. A gust of cool air rolled over them, and Jim let himself close his eyes for just a moment to bask in the relief from the heat as they walked in.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw that the inside of the building was - thankfully - considerably dimmer than the sky outside. In fact, Jim thought it might have been even dimmer than the light he was used to, back on board the Enterprise. He blinked dark spots out of his eyes, and struggled to adjust his eyes to the change.

"Welcome," the Ambassador said. "To the Canopy Tower."

They had walked into a large, grand lobby, decorated lavishly with enormous flowering plants that wove up the sides of the walls and hung down from above. The structure itself was made of a shining metal wrought in intricate geometric designs, and dimmed light streamed in from slightly darkened windows lining the walls of the room.

There was no sign of the political turmoil from thirty-five years ago. Jim supposed that was probably a good sign. Perhaps the turmoil had not been altogether too destructive.

The lobby was occupied by several dozen Verhonians, standing at attention in two orderly lines that formed a wide aisle for the away team and their escorts. The Verhonians were immaculately groomed and dressed in shimmering, embroidered fabrics. Their tails were all swept before them, which Jim recognized as a Verhonian sign of respect, similar to a salute.

At the very end of the aisle they formed stood another Verhonian, this one dressed in a deep blue fabric with black trimming and a golden sash across his chest - apparently, some kind of leader. As the away team and their escorts drew close, this final Verhonian rose up onto his haunches and drew himself up to his full height.

"Greetings, Captain Jameskirk, representative of the United Fedaration of Planets," the Verhonian called out. "I am King Laloka of the planet Verhon, and I welcome you to our home." His voice was remarkably deep and reverberating, and Jim was a bit startled to hear such a voice come out of a creature that looked so much like a giant rat.

A monarchy then. That was unusual in warp-capable societies, but not entirely unheard of. Jim wondered vaguely if it was an absolute monarchy, or a constitutional one.

Jim smiled cordially at him and inclined his head, sweeping his right arm in front him in an imitation of the Verhonian's tail gesture of respect. "Thank you, your Majesty. We are honored by your invitation."

King Laloka flicked his whiskers. "I trust you are healthy?"

"You find us in perfect health. And I believe you are free from ill?"

"That I am."

"My I introduce my crew?" Jim added, gesturing to his away team. "This is my First Officer, Commander Spock. Lieutenant Uhura, Ensign Bates, and Ensign Yalchin." They each bowed in acknowledgment as Jim introduced them.

"A pleasure," King Laloka replied. "Now, we have much to discuss in order to secure a friendship between our peoples, but let us begin in the morning. Today, allow me to show you to your room, and I can arrange for you to have a tour of the city, if you'd like."

"I think that would be much appreciated, your majesty," Jim agreed. "We thank you for your hospitality."

King Laloka twitched his whiskers and flicked his tail. Immediately, another Verhonian scurried up to him.

"Take our guests to their rooms. See that they are comfortable and provide them with anything that they may need."

"Of course, your Majesty." The Verhonian turned to the away team. "If you'd follow me, Honored Guests."

She led the away team past the lines of Verhonians at attention and towards the back of the grand lobby, where a large set of double doors slid open at their approach. She led them inside to a well-lit and large lift, which slid shut again and began to rise.

Up, up, and up they went. Darkened windows flashed by as they rose, and Jim could see the canopy stretching further than he could scarcely believe as the horizon grew beneath them.

"This is really high up," Jim commented. "How high are we going?"

The Verhonian guide looked a little taken aback to be addressed so directly, but she replied: "Our chambers for our most esteemed guests are just below his Majesty's personal decks. We should be arriving very shortly."

"Alright, then. This is quite a good view, though - isn't it, Mr. Spock?"

Spock glanced towards the window. "Indeed. It does provide a remarkably wide visual field."

Jim grinned.

The lift doors slid open, and the Verhonian led them out into a wide corridor lined with the same geometric patterns and plants that had been in the lobby, but on a much smaller scale. The walls were fitted with doorways without doors, through which light streamed into the hallway. Looking in, Jim could see a number of well-dressed Verhonians dozing on large pillows, chatting, or reading. Many of them looked up in obvious curiosity as they passed by, and some even scurried to their doorways for a better look. Jim offered them friendly smiles.

The Verhonian lead them right to the end of the hallway, where a final, larger doorway opened into an enormous, circular room.

"This, sir, is the room we have provided for you and your crew."

Jim stepped in and glanced inside. On the opposite stretched a wide, darkened window like a visor strip, and several drawers were built right into the wall. Light filled the room, and large flowering plants crept up the walls.

And in the center of the room, there was one, enormous, circular bed, in which the five could fit snugly – albeit with probably quite a bit of cuddling.

"...Interesting."

Spock had stepped up next to him and was looking at the single bed, one eyebrow arched.

"That's one way to put it," Jim agreed. He and Spock exchanged slightly bemused glances.

"Erm," Jim said, now addressing the Verhonian. "You said this was for _all_ of us?"

"...Yes? Is it not to your liking, sir?"

Jim grinned wryly. "Well - it's great, and no, really, I love the room and appreciate it . . . but my people aren't used to sharing a bed you see, except in  . . . certain circumstances." 

The Verhonian looked quite taken aback. "I see, sir. Would you prefer that we set up . . . private quarters?" She said the word 'private' slowly and deliberately, as if rolling around a foreign word on her tongue.

"No, we would not want to be too much of an imposition," Uhura put in. "With the exception of Commander Spock, I think we would all be alright sharing this room, with just separate blankets, if you could provide that - right?" She glanced around at the others for approval, who nodded. She continued: "Commander Spock's culture and physiology, however, would make it very hard to sleep comfortably in such close proximity to others. Could you find one private room for him, by any chance?"

The Verhonian's whiskers twitched, and she appeared to relax slightly, apparently relieved to only need to find one more set of quarters. "Of course," she agreed. "Might you give me a few minutes to get something set up?"

Spock nodded curtly. "Of course. I shall wait here."

The Verhonian swept her tail in front of herself briefly, then scampered quickly out of the room. But although she was gone, several other Verhonians were peering into the doorway curiously, very obviously assessing the newcomers.

The moment she had left, Spock stepped up to Jim's side. He brushed Jim's wrist lightly but deliberatively, indicating that he should follow. Obediently, Jim followed Spock to the window, where they both gazed out, as if admiring the forest below. Without turning to look at Jim, Spock spoke in a low murmur: "The lack of doors and combined sleeping quarters would seem to indicate a very open and collectivistic society, Captain."

"Yes, it does seem to be that way."

Neither of them said anything more, but Jim understood exactly what Spock had meant – in such an open and collectivistic society, undercover investigations of the undisclosed political turmoil from thirty-five years ago could prove to be very difficult. But Jim didn't easily back down from a challenge, and he offered Spock a sly grin.

* * *

A little after the Verhonian aide had settled Spock into his own private quarters, Ambassador Tallari arrived to bring Jim on a tour of the city. Spock would be accompanying him, whereas Uhura, Bates, and Yalchin were already mingling with some of the locals on the floor and were going to have a slightly less _formal_ tour from their new friends, perhaps one with copious amounts of Verhonian alcohol. Uhura rolled her eyes good-naturedly when Jim, for all intents and purposes, had ordered them to engage in as much drunken revelry as possible – or whatever else was considered a good time on Verhon – but she did not protest; she understood the need for an experience of the city apart from the formal ambassador’s tour.

"I hope you found your rooms to your liking?" Ambassador Tallari was saying as they approached the lift.

"Oh, definitely," Jim assured him. "They are very comfortable, and you have been so good to get us a separate room for my first officer here."

"Of course, we wish to be as accommodating as possible. I only wish we had known of his preferences earlier. Our humblest apologies, sir," he added, this time to Spock.

"No apologies are necessary," Spock replied.

The lift doors slid open at their arrival, and they stepped in. As they began to move downwards, the Ambassador spoke again.

"The city is below the canopy, and as day grows later, hopefully the city will not be as taxing an environment for you as our meeting spot. However, if you need to come back indoors, you need only ask."

"Your concern is appreciated, but that will not be necessary," Spock said. "The primary danger for my crewmates and I is the ultraviolet radiation from your sun, but we should be protected by the leaves of your canopy."

"Yeah, we'll just let you know if we have to stop for water or something," Jim put in.

"Certainly."

The lift continued downwards, dropping down past the lobby where they had first entered, and continuing to drop. Jim watched as the canopy rose up to meet them, the white leaves beginning to look a little gray in the fading light of the evening. They sank down until the white leaves were at their feet, and then they were pushing through the canopy, the leaves rustling around the lift as it continued to sink through the foliage, down the trunk of an enormous, red-barked tree, past brilliantly-colored flowers, down, down, down. A strange six-legged furry creature with a red face screeched at them as they went by, and a flock of tiny avians, smaller than hummingbirds, zipped by.

Glancing at Spock, Jim saw that he was staring out the window of the lift with rapt fascination, apparently expertly cataloguing all the exotic flora and fauna in that calculated Vulcan mind of his. Jim grinned.

“Having the time of your life, I bet,” he said teasingly. “An entire alien rainforest to record? I bet it’s like Christmas and you birthday for the next three years all rolled up into one.”

Spock met his gaze, one eyebrow arched delicately. “Captain, I celebrate neither Terran holidays nor ‘birthdays’, as you are aware.”

“No, but this is still the best thing you’ve seen in at least two months, am I right?”

“I admit to a certain degree of  . . . intrigue,” Spock agreed.

“Sir -,” the Ambassador broke in, sitting up on his haunches and twitching his whiskers. “If it would please you, we could arrange an expedition into the forest for you, tomorrow after discussions.”

Spock glanced at Jim expectantly, who nodded. “Definitely. That sounds like a great plan, ambassador. I think I would also like to see what kind of life your rainforest must have.”

“Then I shall arrange for that.”

Finally, the lift slid smoothly to a halt, and the doors slid open to expose an enormous entrance hall. This one was even larger than the one they had met the King in earlier, but not nearly half as elegant. The room was wide and spacious, with tall, vaulted ceilings, and carefully polished black tile flooring. There were some ropes of vine curling up the walls, but none quite like the fantastical blooms in the first room, and here the spiralling patterns on the wall were almost lazy, casual. It was beautiful nonetheless, but apparently not the grand show room.

Another very clear difference between this hall and the original lobby was that this one was bustling to the brim with Verhonians. Large desks lined the hall, and there were hundreds of Verhonians scurrying about, clicking and squeaking on the tiles, the cacophony of conversation echoing off the vaulted ceilings.

But, as Jim and Spock walked out into the center of the hall, led by the Ambassador, a very audible hush fell over the crowd. Verhonians stopped in their tracks and stared, some muttering something to a friend under their breaths, others simply craning their necks to get a good view of the newcomers.

Jim grinned at the Verhonians and waved brightly, doing his best to look as friendly as possible without having whiskers to twitch. “Eager, aren’t they?” he commented cheerfully.

“I apologize, sir. We haven’t had extraterrestrial visitors in thirty-five years, and this is the first time any have been out in public. I could order you privacy, if you wish.”

“Oh, no,” Jim assured him. “Let them have their excitement. It’s not every day you get to have a first glimpse of the new aliens. Unless – do you mind, Mr. Spock?”

Spock was watching the audience with mild interest. “Not at all, Captain. Their responses are quite fascinating.”

Jim grinned. “That they are. Well, let’s carry on.”

The Ambassador blinked once, and led them through the crowd, which parted before them. They passed down the hall and towards a large, open archway bustling with activity.

Outside, was, thankfully, dimmer and cooler than the canopy they’d been on earlier. In fact, although it was still a tad uncomfortably warm, it was almost dark down here, closer to the forest floor. Small orbs, white-blue lanterns, lining the trees and the buildings glowed, illuminating the view.

They had stepped out onto a grand set of steps that descended into what was very clearly a city in the trees. While the Canopy Tower may have been the only building to breach the carpet of leaves they had beamed down to, the forest beneath was saturated with red and white cylindrical buildings, blending into the trees, some even built right into the trees themselves. The buildings were dotted with large, white capsule-like structures, like covered balconies, and windows stretched in long stripes along the sides.

Suspended, covered pathways stretched between the different buildings, connecting them fifty meters above the ground. These pathways were bustling with Verhonians scampering along the edges, and larger white pods that zoomed down the center, each carrying about six Verhonians at a time.

The sounds of a city reached their ears, movement and urban vibrancy blending with the ever present hum of birds and insects from the trees above. The integration of civilization and forest was completely smooth, seamless, almost as if the city had grown out with the trees themselves.

“Wow.” Jim let out a low whistle. “This is definitely one of the most impressive cities I’ve ever seen.”

“Fascinating,” Spock agreed.

The Ambassador’s whiskers twitched, pleased. “I am glad you find our capitol to your liking, Captain. Shall we commence with the tour?” He nodded his head towards the bottom of the steps, where one of the pods from the suspended road sat waiting, opened at the top in wait for its passengers.

“Let’s,” Jim agreed with a dazzling grin.

The Ambassador led them down the steps and saw them into the pod. The interior was black and cushioned, but without the seat backs of Terran vehicles. The seats were nevertheless quite comfortable, and when Jim and Spock had both settled themselves down, the Ambassador climbed into the front and let the ceiling door swing shut over them.

“Where to, Captain?” the ambassador inquired.

“Why don’t you show us the highlights?” Jim suggested. “If we have any other suggestions at the end, we’ll let you know.”

“That sounds more than acceptable,” the Ambassador said, and flicked his tail across the controls of the pod. With a lurch, they jumped into motion.

* * *

The city was absolutely beautiful. The pod sped down the pathways smoothly, and as they travelled deeper into the heart of the urban environment, Jim wondered at the continued integration of nature and civilization. He saw lanterns made of hollowed fruit, and buildings made right from the trunks of long-dead trees. The rainforest’s wildlife was entirely unperturbed by the existence of the city; birds darted in between the buildings, and hordes of that same, six-legged furry creature Jim had seen earlier scampered across the covered pathways without a second glance for the pods rushing by below. Down below, he watched a large, trudging creature follow a Verhonian up to the door of their house and be turned away with gentle shooing motions of the Verhonian’s tail – whether it was a pet or a wild beast tamely following in search of companionship and scraps, Jim wasn’t sure.

“We have lived in integration with rainforests for approximately five hundred years,” the ambassador had explained when Jim mentioned it. “Once we tried to remain separate, but as I’m sure you’ve noticed, the vast majority of our planet consists of rainforests. As our population grew, the amount of forest that had to be cleared mounted and threatened global environmental catastrophe. So we learned to integrate.”

The first stop of their tour was the public library. The public library of the city was built into the side of a mountain, which was connected to the rest of the city in the trees by an enormous lift built into the widest tree trunk Jim had seen yet – at least fifteen feet across.

Jim had been particularly impressed by the mimicry of artificial light in the library streaming in from windows that opened into nothing but rock. Spock, of course, had been more fascinated by the contents of the shelves themselves and was possibly enamored with the native biology texts – it had been nearly impossible to drag him away to continue the rest of the tour.

Schools were tightly packed conglomerations of cylindrical buildings, wrapped up in their own personal set of roadways separate from those that connected the rest of the city. The Ambassador showed off Kallini University with particular enthusiasm, announcing proudly that he had studied there forty years ago, and declaring its physics and astronomy departments the best on the planet (“and the political science department isn’t too bad either,” he’d added).

Three hours saw them through what the translator interpreted as the “International Museum of Art”, but which actually turned out to be much more like an enormous lecture hall than anything else.

 _That_ had been a particular trial for Jim. Not only was the presentation _incredibly_ long to start with, but Spock also felt the need to pepper the poor speaker with a hundred questions regarding each and every topic, significantly lengthening the overall lecture (the traitor). The entire visit had been an ongoing battle of wills between Jim, who surreptitiously stepped on Spock’s toes to urge him to _shut up_ , and Spock, who shot him long-suffering glances or flat-out ignored him.

(And Jim’s offer to buy Spock something at the gift shop if he stopped harassing the poor speaker was met by blank stares from Vulcan and Verhonian eyes alike. Apparently, gift shops weren’t a thing here. Shame.)

Jim’s favorite part of the tour, by far, was the enormous, suspended greenhouse that served as a local park.

The center of the park was taken up by an ingeniously plumbed artificial lake, with little sparkling blue fish, flowers that bloomed underwater, and even a waterfall cascading from the ceiling. The land was overflowing with vibrant plants and the occasional tame tiny creature scampering across their path. Here, Verhonians relaxed in whatever way they saw fit. Jim saw groups cuddled together and dozing in large dog piles, children playing chase games, some taking leisurely swims, or doing some odd hop-jump routine that Jim couldn’t understand at all.

Jim also noticed that not one of the Verhonians were alone. When he pointed this out to Spock, Spock had nodded, but his eyebrows furrowed for just a half-second, as if he could not wrap his mind around the apparent absence of solitude.

“We should come here again tomorrow,” Jim had said, while letting a small, curious reptile investigate his finger. “Bring the rest of the team, interact with the civilians here, get an understanding of the culture and just relax the Verhonian way.”

Spock raised an eyebrow but nodded.

* * *

They were on their way back to the Canopy Tower when one particular building caught Jim’s eye. It stood out to Jim because the red and white of every other building he’d seen so far, this one was bright yellow.

“Ambassador, what is that building – the yellow one?”

The Ambassador barely glanced up. “That is the Injury Center. Injury Centers are painted yellow to make them easier to identify in case of emergencies. Would you like to visit?”

“No, not tonight. We’ll have the rest of the week to drop by. But, out of curiosity, are your other medical centers yellow as well?”

The Ambassador’s ears twitched. “Other medical centers? We have other minor injury centers in each school, but no, they’re not yellow.”

“I believe the Captain was referring to your hospitals, Ambassador,” Spock said.

Now, the Ambassador fixed him with an intense, steady gaze. “We have only Injury Centers. My people are healthy.”

“Always?” Jim echoed mildly. “What about the flu? The common cold?”

“My people are healthy,” the Ambassador said again.

Jim frowned slightly, and he traded a glance with Spock. Neither of them said anything more, but the unspoken questions lay heavy on the air between them.

* * *

“So, what do you think of Verhon, Spock?”

“I can hardly pass judgment on the entirety of a planet after having only experienced a few short hours in a single city,” Spock pointed out.

Jim and Spock were back in Spock’s private quarters, having been escorted there by the Ambassador at the end of their tour. The Ambassador had tried to bring Jim to the crew’s main quarters, but Jim had declined, saying that he wished to keep his First Officer company a while longer – which apparently made perfect sense to the Ambassador.

Now, Jim was sitting on Spock’s considerably smaller bed, his arms crossed and his brow furrowed in thought. Spock stood on the other side of the room, ramrod straight and at attention.

“That was just a friendly generalization, Spock. I’m just wondering what your impressions are so far of what we’ve seen of Verhon. And – sit down,” Jim added. “Your formality is making me uncomfortable – these _are_ your quarters.”

Spock nodded stiffly and delicately seated himself on the bed.

“I find the Verhonians to be a respectable and productive people. Their integration with their natural surroundings is commendable, and their apparent societal values of socialization are quite . . . interesting.” He turned to Jim. “Would you concur, Captain?”

“Overall, yeah,” Jim said. “They’re definitely very friendly and hospitable. Other than that sun of theirs, I really like this planet.”

“Indeed,” Spock agreed, with one quirked eyebrow.

“One thing, though . . . ,” Jim trailed off. He was frowning now, staring pensively at his shoes.

“Captain?”

“Eh, just thinking.”

“I see.” Spock waited patiently.

“I mean -,” And now, Jim sat up sharply, turning to face him. “That last thing we saw – the yellow building? The Injury Center?”

Spock watched him, wordlessly inviting him to continue.

“I mean, it could just be a weird blip in the translator. But – what the Ambassador said – it sounded a little odd, didn’t it?”

“Odd, Captain?”

“’My people are healthy’, ‘my people are healthy’, that’s all. No other explanations. Maybe he was only commenting on how efficient the injury centers are, but it just sounds a little off. Do you know what I mean?”

Spock seemed to consider this for a moment. “A fascinating proposal.”

“I mean, what are the chances that an _entire planet_ is completely healthy?”

Spock’s eyebrows rose. “….Curious.”

Just then, a set of footsteps approached the door.

Jim and Spock glanced up, in time to see Uhura poke her head around the doorway. She looked a little breathless, but unusually driven, a flash in her eye.

“Oh, good, you’re here,” she said, and stepped in. “I heard you were back and hoped you would stay here – less chance of us being overheard, since the Verhonians have been instructed to leave Spock alone.”

Jim frowned. “Overheard?” he echoed “What are you talking about, Lieutenant?”

Uhura was peering out the doorway, checking for any Verhonians in the vicinity. Apparently satisfied that they were alone, she stepped back in and fixed Jim with a firm gaze.

“You’re going to want to hear this, Captain. Something strange is going on here.”  

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for taking the time to read this! I hope you found the first chapter enjoyable. 
> 
> I'd also like to thank my wonderful friend Catherine for helping me edit this chapter, not to mention all the hours helping me plot out the entire fic. 
> 
> If you would like to leave me any comments, that would be fantastic, especially any advice or concrit. It's been a long time since I've written much, so any pointers to help me shake off the dust would be greatly appreciated! 
> 
> Thank you again!


End file.
